CAPTION: The international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has published the indictment against Hezbollah members accused in the attack. (17 August 2011)

VOICE-OVER: English

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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1. Various of immediate aftermath at the scene of the blast that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

The Hague, Netherlands - 17 August 2011

2. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

3. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

4. STILL of Salim Ayyash, suspect

5. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

6. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine, suspect

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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7. Various of immediate aftermath at the scene of the blast that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

The Hague, Netherlands - 17 August 2011

8. Page of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 2011

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut - 14 Feb 2008

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10. Various of statue of Rafik Hariri

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 201

11. Mid of Hariri''s grave

12. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

SCRIPT

The truck bombing back in 2005 had created an inferno that killed Lebanon''s prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

Now a special court in the Netherlands that''s been investigating the assassination has made public the indictment charging four members of Hezbollah in connection with the attack that killed Hariri and 22 others -- a number that includes the suicide bomber.

They include Mustafa Badreddine, who''s also the man believed to have made the bomb that blew up the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 Americans.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no smoking gun linking the suspects to the attack on Hariri despite years of painstaking investigations. The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence, and although it answers many questions one official noted that the full story will only unfold in the courtroom. That''s something member of parliament Mohammad Kabbani looks forward to...

SOT

The Hariri trial may end up taking place without the defendants present, though, as Hezbollah has denied involvement and said it will never turn over the suspects.

1. Street where former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a blast in 2005

2. Sign reading (Arabic) "Place of the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and his comrades"

3. Statue commemorating the assassination

4. Various of Hariri''s grave

5. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work. Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

7. Kabani walking away

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Faisal, Bierut resident:

"We are supporting the indictment decision and if they are strong enough (refers to Lebanese government) they must arrest the four men."

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

9. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

10. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

11. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine

12. STILL of Salim Ayyash

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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13. Various of immediate aftermath at the blast scene

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

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14. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

STORYLINE

Prosecutors analyzed a vast network of telephone records to link four Hezbollah members to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but there was no clear smoking gun in the case, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

The special court investigating Hariri''s murder unsealed the 47-page indictment against four members of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah for alleged involvement in the truck bombing that killed Hariri.

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work," said Lebanese Member of Parliament Mohammad Kabbani, from the "4th of March Bloc

"Up until now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

The publication comes after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said last week that Lebanese authorities had been unable to arrest the four suspects or serve them with their indictments, a move that some of the Beirut residents would like to see.

The suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, a Hezbollah commander and the suspected bomb maker who blew up the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 Americans.

The other suspects are: Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Assad Sabra and Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa.

They are accused of involvement in the 14 February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others - a number that includes a suicide bomber.

Hezbollah has denied involvement and said it will never turn over the suspects.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no smoking gun linking the suspects to the attack, despite years of painstaking investigations.

The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence "which works logically by inference and deduction," the indictment said.

With Lebanon apparently unable to arrest the suspects, the court - unusually for an international tribunal - could try the suspects in their absence.

The indictment that was released, which has many words and numbers blotted out in black ink, relies substantially on telephone records linking the suspects to the crime.

It alleges that a "red network" of cell phones was used by members of the assassination team.

The phone records showed a flurry of calls shortly before Hariri''s assassination, then they stopped being used two minutes before the explosion and were never used again.

The indictment said the records showed "a coordinated use of these phones to carry out the assassination."

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has long sought to cast doubt on the security of the Lebanon''s telephone network, however, and he will likely use the tribunal''s evidence to further cast doubt on the court''s claims.

Nasrallah has called the tribunal an Israeli plot against Lebanon.

Lebanese officials have confirmed that Israel has penetrated and has great control over Lebanon''s telecommunications networks.

In 2010, authorities detained two senior employees of one of the country''s two cellular telecommunication companies on suspicion that they were spying for Israel.

1. Street where former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a blast in 2005

2. Sign reading (Arabic) "Place of the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and his comrades"

3. Statue commemorating the assassination

4. Various of Hariri''s grave

5. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work. Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

7. Kabani walking away

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Faisal, Bierut resident:

"We are supporting the indictment decision and if they are strong enough (refers to Lebanese government) they must arrest the four men."

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

9. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

10. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

11. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine

12. STILL of Salim Ayyash

AL MANAR

++PLEASE NOTE AL MANAR IS CONTROLLED BY HEZBOLLAH++

Beirut - 17 August 2011

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13. Wide of audience

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic), Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader:

"The text in our hands now is based on conclusions and analysis and not on clear evidence. It''s based on circumstantial evidence and is not credible. What we are hearing from the public makes us more convinced that it''s based on politicisation and injustice and accusations. And those honourable resistance fighters should not be called charged, but unjustly treated."

15. Wide of audience

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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16. Various of immediate aftermath at the blast scene

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

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17. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

STORYLINE:

A long-awaited international indictment unsealed on Wednesday offers no direct evidence linking four Hezbollah suspects to the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, despite years of painstaking investigations.

The indictment, which relies heavily on circumstantial evidence such as telephone records to link the men to the crime, played into efforts by the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah to discredit a case that has consumed and divided Lebanon for more than six years.

"The text in our hands now is based on conclusions and analysis and not on clear evidence," Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech in Beirut on Wednesday.

"Those honourable resistance fighters should not be called charged, but unjustly treated," he added.

Much of the information contained in the indictment had been leaked to the media over the past two years, which Nasrallah said was a sign that the probe was tainted beyond repair.

Lebanon''s most powerful political and military force, Hezbollah has vowed never to turn over the suspects, although a trial may be held in absentia.

The suicide truck bomb that killed Hariri on 14 February 2005 was one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East.

A billionaire businessman, Hariri was Lebanon''s most prominent politician after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.

In the six years since his death, the investigation has sharpened some of Lebanon''s most intractable issues: the role of Hezbollah, which commands an arsenal far greater than the national army, and the country''s dark history of sectarian divisions and violence.

Hariri was one of Lebanon''s most powerful Sunni leaders; Hezbollah is a Shiite group.

Prosecutors analysed a vast network of telephone records to link the "assassination team" to the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22

others, according to the 47-page indictment.

Investigators tracked the movements of the suspects using their phones'' locations as recorded by cell phone towers.

The indictment says the records showed "a coordinated use of these phones to carry out the assassination."

According to the records, there was a flurry of calls shortly before Hariri''s murder, but they stopped two minutes before the explosion.

The phones were never used again.

The indictment also says the assassins tracked Hariri''s movements over several weeks to establish the routes and movements of his convoy and the location of his vehicle in it.

On the day of the murder, they detonated some 2,500 kilograms (5,510 pounds) of explosives packed into a Mitsubishi van parked near a hotel along Beirut''s Mediterranean waterfront.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no direct evidence linking the suspects to the attack.

The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence "which works logically by inference and deduction," the indictment said.

"No, Mr. Prime Minister Mikati, your friend Hariri wasn't just martyred. He was assassinated with two tons of explosives, along with him, your colleagues, your friends and your citizens. For them, you have a holy responsibility that will follow you, will chase you, forever and ever. The worst series of the worst crimes in the history of Lebanon is being treated with irreverence, without investigation, without question and without punishment, and now after 30 years it is on the precipice of being solved, and its executors, God willing, and those who ordered it, will be known."

"My message to these individuals is the following: an arrest warrant has been issued against you today. The only person in the world who can get you out of this arrest warrant is a lawyer. So, make contact as soon as possible with a lawyer."

"If the accused, or some of them, do not contact lawyers, then they will be tried in absentia. In that case, I myself have to assign lawyers on this list to defend the accused. But clearly those lawyers won't have contact with the accused, they won't know their points of view, and their job will certainly be more difficult."

12. Cutaway of hands

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's parliament began three days of contentious debate on Tuesday, over the government's response to UN-backed indictments of four Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

In parliament on Tuesday, MP Marwan Hamadeh told Lebanon's new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, that he had "a holy responsibility that will follow you, will chase you, forever and ever" to bring Hariri's killers to justice.

Hamadeh himself was injured in a car bomb explosion on October 1, 2004 that killed his driver and injured his bodyguard.

The blast is considered to have been the beginning of a series of assassinations of Lebanese politicians and journalists, one of which claimed the life of Rafik Hariri.

Tuesday's session in Beirut pitted Lebanon's rival factions against each other. Hezbollah and its allies are on one side, and a Western-backed coalition led by Hariri's son, Saad, is on the other.

On Monday, Saad Hariri accused Mikati of bowing to pressure from Hezbollah, which is refusing to turn over four members indicted by the UN-backed tribunal for the truck bombing that killed the Lebanese statesman in 2005.

Mikati fired back, suggesting Saad Hariri - himself a former prime minister - was trying to exploit his father's death for political gain and tear apart the country.

The implication of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in one of Lebanon's most stunning crimes threatens to bring a new and violent crisis in this Arab nation on Israel's northern border.

The Shiite militant group denies any role in the killing and vows never to turn over any of its members.

Also on Tuesday, the defence chief at the UN tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri has urged the four Hezbollah members indicted in the slaying to come forward.

Francois Roux says the men will be tried in absentia if they stay in hiding.

"My message to these individuals is the following: an arrest warrant has been issued against you today. The only person in the world who can get you out of this arrest warrant is a lawyer. Make contact as soon as possible with a lawyer," Roux said.

Roux said that his office would help them prepare their defence.

The tribunal last week indicted the men in the 2005 assassination of Hariri, a prominent Sunni statesman.

Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah denies his Shiite group had any role in it and has vowed never to hand the men over.

"The investigation's report is the first step in the course of uncovering the truth. We will look forward to (the investigation) continuing to reach the justice which alone will be the source of full comfort to the Lebanese people, the Lebanese state and its stability."

4. Cutaway

5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Legislator:

"The results reached by the UN international commission will not be subject to any internal or external bargaining - because the blood of the Lebanese people and the blood of Rafik Hariri and the others won't be starting any bargaining nor any political trade. We will not accept that, as it becomes a means of political or non-political punishment."

"The UN investigation report, led by judge Detlev Mehlis, was highly appreciated by the Lebanese. The report expressed itself by the strong facts that it included and by the extreme professionalism, as was expected by the Lebanese people, without any compliance, biased or political influences.''

10. Cutaway journalists

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi

"The aim of discovering the details of this huge crime is to stop the series of the political assassinations in Lebanon and in all the Arab countries.''

12. Cutaway cameraman

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi

"Despite of all that has happened, nothing will change the brotherly relations between the Lebanese and the Syrians. The strong relations between Lebanon and Syria should not be affected under any circumstances. This bond is stronger than the condemned deterioration and mistakes that happened in the past."

14. Ghazi Aridi leaving the presser

STORYLINE

The son and political heir of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Saturday praised a UN probe that implicated top Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in the murder of his father.

"The investigation's report is the first step in the course of uncovering the truth," said legislator Saad Hariri in a televised speech from his residence in the Saudi Arabian city of Jiddah.

Many Lebanese politicians are temporarily living abroad because they fear violence at home.

Hariri's statement came two days after the chief UN investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, released the findings of the UN probe into his father's killing.

Mehlis said in his report there was a clear link between Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in the massive bombing that killed Hariri and

20 others in central Beirut on February 14.

Syria angrily rejected as false, unprofessional and politicised the UN report that accused it of approving Hariri's assassination.

Saad Hariri, who heads the largest anti-Syrian bloc in Lebanon's parliament, also said that the findings of the probe "will not be subject to any internal or external bargaining".

His statement was the first official comment on the UN report by the Hariri family.

Hariri spoke shortly before Lebanon's cabinet discussed the report, which it said was based on "strong facts and high level of professionalism".

The cabinet also called on Syria to cooperate honestly with the investigation, but Information Minister Ghazi Aridi insisted the probe would not

affect his country's ties with Damascus, adding the cabinet would discuss calls for an international tribunal after the UN investigation ended.

The elder Hariri's assassination prompted mass anti-Syrian protests and intensified international pressure on Syria to withdraw its army, ending 29

years of control of its neighbour.

Many Lebanese blamed the killing on Syria and pro-Syrian Lebanese security chiefs.

Syria and its Lebanese allies denied any involvement.

Four Lebanese generals who ran the security services at the time Hariri was killed have been jailed for alleged involvement in the murder.

The trial into the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, began in the Hague on Thursday, nearly nine years after his death.

Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive truck bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

The four main Hezbollah suspects behind the bombing are being tried in absentia at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), because they are yet to be arrested.

During opening comments, Presiding Judge, David Re, said the defendants are being tried on several charges including "conspiracy to commit a terrorist act" and "premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials."

He added that the trial would proceed as if the defendants were present.

The four Hezbollah suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, believed to have been the group's deputy military commander, Salim Ayyash - also known as Abu Salim, Assad Sabra, and Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa.

The fifth man to be indicted was Hassan Habib Merhi, who was charged later than the other four suspects and is not officially a suspect in the trial.

"Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Oneissi and Assad Sabra, as the evidence will show, conspired together with others to commit this terrorist act aimed at assassinating the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr Rafik Hariri," prosecutor Norman Farrell told the court.

Prosecutors will call upon hundreds of witnesses during the course of the proceedings, which is likely to take months.

Hezbollah has condemned the tribunal as a conspiracy by its archenemies the US and Israel.

It has also denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination.

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

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1. Cars entering the compound for start of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)

2. Exterior of building where tribunal is being held

3. Close of flag of STL tribunal

STL (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON) POOL

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Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

4. Various of courtroom as judges enter for start of tribunal

5. SOUNDBITE (English) David Re, Presiding Judge at Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"The charges all arise out of the explosion in Beirut on the 14th of February 2005 that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Mr. Rafik Hariri and 21 others (excluding the suicide bomber) and injured over 200 people. The charges are of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, committing a terrorist act by using explosive materials, premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials and attempted premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials."

6. Wide of Peter Haynes, Lead Legal Representative for the Victims, speaking

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Norman Farrell, STL Prosecutor:

"Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Oneissi and Assad Sabra, as the evidence will show, conspired together with others to commit this terrorist act aimed at assassinating the former Prime Minister of Lebanon Mr Rafik Hariri. The accused, Badreddine and Ayyash with others, prepared and carried out the attack on the 14th of February. The accused, Oneissi and Sabra, assisted them as accomplices."

8. Mid of photo shown in court of February 14 blast

9. Mid of model of Beirut seafront on courtroom floor with defence counsel team sat behind

10. Close of evidence photo showing damaged cars

11. Mid of courtroom

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut - 14 February, 2005

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12. Various of Hariri assassination blast site with burnt out cars and emergency services attempting to control flames

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

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13. Mid exterior of sign for Special Tribunal for Lebanon

14. Wide of media

15. Mid of attendees arriving at the tribunal

16. Mid of a woman holding a banner of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri

"After years of waiting, the International General Prosecutor issued an indictment and showed information that was gathered by the international investigations and accused members of being involved in the crime."

5. Cutaway Lebanese flag

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najib Mikati, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"We are today in front of a new reality that requests a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns. So we will deal with responsibility and reality with this incident, starting from that the accusations whatever its sources are not verdicts and the accusations need real and undoubted proves and any accused person is innocent until its accusation is proved."

7. Wide of news conference

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati said national unity, peace and truth should trump all other concerns, after a United Nations-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri delivered an indictment and four arrest warrants on Thursday.

The UN tribunal's decision marks the latest turn in a case that has transformed this Arab nation and brought down the government earlier this year.

At a news conference in Beirut, Mikati said it demanded "a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns."

The names of the accused were not released, but a Lebanese official said at least one member of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is among those indicted.

The official saw the arrest warrants that were issued on Thursday and gave the names to The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

One of the people named is Mustafa Badr-Eddine, believed to have been Hezbollah's deputy military commander.

He is the brother-in-law of the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

Many fear the indictment of Hezbollah members could lead to street protests and plunge the violence-wracked country back into a new crisis.

The long-awaited indictment was confirmed by the office of Hariri's son, Saad.

According to tribunal rules, Lebanese authorities now have 30 days to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants.

If they fail, the court can then order the indictment published and advertised in local media.

Saad Hariri also served as Lebanon's prime minister, but he was forced from office in January, when Hezbollah and its allies toppled his government in a conflict over the tribunal.

The group, which is also backed by Syria, fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

The dispute over the investigation encapsulates Lebanon's most explosive conflicts: the role of Hezbollah, the country's most powerful political and military force; the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence; and Lebanon's fraught relationship with neighbouring Syria.

Rafik Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront on February 14, 2005.

The indictment raises concerns of a possible resurgence of violence that has blighted this tiny Arab country of four million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

"The mandate of the commission is set to expire on December 31 of this month, but I have sought a two month extension to allow the commission to continue to function until the day the tribunal starts its operation."

"In relation to the Hariri investigation, I stated before that we had gathered evidence establishing a network of individuals acted in concert to carry out the assassination. Since then the commission has identified new information that may allow us to link additional individuals with the network."

"I know that people want to have more details. They want to know the exact nature of the progress achieved. They want to know what the commission has discovered so far, what leads are currently being pursued. I have said as much as I could responsibly. It must be remembered that lives are at risk. I will not argue my case in the media or in public."

8. Wide of Security Council meeting

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Neven Jurica, Croatian Ambassador and President of Security Council for December:

"Will those in favour of the draft resolution contained in document S-2008-792, please raise their hand?"

"The court has an obligation that is clearly set out in the statute, within a two month period of time, a request must be made for the file and the file includes documents, potential detainees and so on. So by statute the tribunal is obliged to ask the Lebanese authorities to transfer their file to the tribunal."

AP Television

FILE: recent

13. Push in UN flags

STORYLINE:

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to extend the investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The vote came after the chief investigator, Daniel Bellemare of Canada, asked that his commission's mandate be pushed ahead to February 28, from year's end.

Discussing a report released early this month on the status of the investigation, Bellemare told the Security Council that his team has uncovered fresh information that may link additional individuals to the network responsible for the February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri.

He also said additional links have been found between the assassination and some of the 20 other attacks in which his investigators are providing technical assistance to Lebanon's government.

Nobody has been charged in the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, although four pro-Syria Lebanese generals have been under arrest for more than three years for alleged involvement.

The first U.N. chief investigator, Detlev Mehlis of Germany, has said the plot's complexity suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role.

Bellemare said despite calls for more information to become public, he would not provide any details from the investigation because "lives are at risk." The report also said that Syria has provided "satisfactory cooperation."

Syria denies any involvement in Hariri's death.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

Bellemare said he could not predict when the investigation will be completed, but said it will continue once he becomes prosecutor of the international tribunal set up to try suspects in Hariri's assassination.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he expects the tribunal to begin operating on March 1 in The Hague, Netherlands.

"It's critical that the people of Lebanon see that this tribunal is an independent and impartial institution. Its establishment constitutes a strong signal that such assassinations and other terrorist attacks will not be tolerated and that impunity cannot be allowed to persist."

"The creation of this Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the result of a tragedy - the killing of a former Prime-minister and of other 22 persons. By the very nature of its mandate, the STL is the first international anti-terrorist tribunal. The creation of tribunal was a political decision. Its operation, however, is and must remain above politics, governed by an impartial and principled approach based on the rule of law."

10. Wide of news conference as Bellemare returns to seat

11. Mid of media

12. Wide of news conference

13. Close of Bellemare leaving podium and shaking hands with other people on stage

STORYLINE

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened on Sunday in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, with a moment's silence and a pledge to impartially investigate the politically charged case.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Patricia O'Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, within the United Nations, said it was critical that the people of Lebanon saw the tribunal as an "independent and impartial institution."

She said its establishment was intended to send a "strong signal that such assassinations and other terrorist attacks will not be tolerated and that impunity cannot be allowed to persist."

Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said the tribunal was borne out of the tragedy of Hariri's murder and that of 22 other people.

Bellemare said by the very nature of its mandate, the STL was the first international anti-terrorist tribunal.

He said its creation was a political decision but its operation, however, "is and must remain above politics, governed by impartial and principal approach based on the rule of law."

Bellemare said he would continue his investigations without political interference and would call for Lebanese authorities to turn over four pro-Syrian generals who are suspects in the case.

Bellemare, a Canadian, said he could issue several indictments as a result of his wide-ranging investigation into the 14 February 2005 suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on a Beirut seaside street, but he would not say when.

The four generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

They are the only suspects in custody, though they have not been formally charged.

The new court has a wing ready to detain suspects in a Hague jail that already holds Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Liberian President Charles Taylor, among other international war crimes suspects.

In Lebanon, hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered near his tomb in downtown Beirut where they watched the opening session from two giant screens.

Earlier, dozens of anti-Syrian lawmakers laid wreaths on Hariri's tomb and those of his bodyguards and aides who were killed with him four years ago.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination but Damascus denies any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The court was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises seven foreign and four Lebanese judges who have yet to take office.

It is funded by Lebanon and UN member states and based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

It will use Lebanese law, but unlike Lebanese courts cannot impose the death penalty.

Unusually for an international tribunal, it can hold trials in absentia.

"Our expectations vis-avis the Syrian authorities are high in this respect. The Commission has already prepared several new requests for cooperation to the Syrian Foreign Ministry. The coming weeks will prove whether our requirements will be fulfilled and our cautious optimism was justified."

"Improved and timely cooperation from Syria will be critical factor in continuing successfully the work of the Commission. It is therefore of the utmost importance to achieve clarity with the Syrian authorities about the legal framework for cooperation, access to information, sites and Syrian citizens."

"Structural problems within the Lebanese law enforcement and judicial systems to cope with the demands of these cases is apparent. More cooperation and communication among the different Lebanese agencies is necessary; more specialized investigative capability and forensic expertise is needed. If we succeed in addressing these problems swiftly, the investigations into in to the additional 14 cases could provide valuable links and commonalities among the these cases with the assasination of Rafik Hariri and 22 other persons."

"Unveiling the truth and holding the perpetrators accountable will be a great service to the future of Lebanon, the country which Prime Minister Rafik Al-Hariri and his companion loved till martyrdom. The truth will foster the independence and sovereignty of our country. It will also help the Lebanese Government, supported by the people, to strengthen the foundations of a state which is capable, strong and just- a state for which all Lebanese aspire."

"First, the report referred to the joint understandings between Syria and the Investigation Committee about the legal framework and practical cooperation machinery between the two sides and the framework of Syria's response and took into account the country's rights and jurisdiction under international law. Secondly, Syria had cooperated with the Commission since its inception, assistance request submitted by the independent commission. We would like to stress that such understandings take into consideration Syrian legal and judiciary jurisdiction and observes the requirements of national sovereignty .Syria has continuously and completely cooperated with the Independent Commission since the beginning of its work. In this connection, the special judiciary committees set up in Syria is ready to cooperate with the Commission and respond to all of the requests presented by the Commission."

12. Wide shot, Security Council

STORYLINE:

The United Nations panel investigating last year's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri today reported progress in regards to cooperation on the part of Syria. A common understanding was reached in regard to access to individuals, sites and information.

Noting that Damascus has signalled its intention to fully comply with Security Council resolutions on the issue, the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) says in its latest report that it intends to request "full, unhindered and direct access" to documents, facilities and sites, as well as interviews with Syrian citizens, after earlier reports pointed to Syrian involvement.

"Despite these encouraging steps, it is important to note that the Commission will ultimately judge cooperation of the Syrian authorities on the merits of the information provided and promptness with which its requests are being accommodated," UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz cautions in his report to the Council.

"The coming weeks will prove whether our requirements will be fulfilled, and our cautious optimism was justified," he said today in presenting the report to the 15-member body in open session

In it, he writes that a significant number of new lines of inquiry identified since the start of the year have enabled faster-than-expected progress and the Commission is "confident that its support to the Lebanese authorities will result in a successful outcome to the investigation within a realistic time-frame."

"This understanding will be tested in the upcoming months," he observes, stressing that the Commission "looks forward to receiving timely and relevant responses to its requests, as agreed by the Syrian Government."

Mr. Brammertz writes that a significant number of new lines of inquiry identified since the start of the year have enabled faster-than-expected progress and the Commission "is confident that its support to the Lebanese authorities will result in a successful outcome to the investigation within a realistic time-frame."

UNIIIC, set up after an earlier UN mission deemed Lebanon's own investigation seriously flawed and Syria primarily responsible for the political tension preceding Mr. Hariri's murder, has already reported finding evidence pointing to both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the bomb attack, which killed the ex-premier and 22 others.

In the latest report, Mr. Brammertz discusses the possibility of a tribunal "of an international character" to judge any suspects charged in the murder, notes a high level of professionalism and experience in terrorism on the part of the perpetrators, and reports that he has been promised a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the upcoming month.

He also details UNIIIC's expanded mandate to assist Lebanon in the investigation of 14 other terrorist attacks committed in Lebanon since October 2004, noting certain common characteristics in these crimes.

"With the expansion of its mandate and the prospect of a tribunal of international character on the horizon, the work of the Commission has entered into a new phase," notes Mr. Brammertz, who took over as head of UNIIIC from Detlev Mehlis.

Talking to reporters after the Council session, he said the Commission now had a much better understanding of the crime and modus operandi. But "it is quite impossible for me to predict if it takes three months or eight months," he replied when asked whether he would be able to complete the probe within the current three-month mandate.

In a press statement after the open session, the Council President for March, Ambassador C�sar Mayoral of Argentina, said members "took positive note of the common understanding between the Commission and the Syrian authorities regarding Syria's required full and unconditional cooperation with the investigation on legal and operational matters."

Praising UNIIIC for its work so far, Ambassador Boutros Assaker of Lebanon told the open session of the Council that punishing "those involved in this enormous terrorist crime, whomever and wherever they are� will reinforce stability in Lebanon and throughout the region."

Fayssal Mekdad, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Syria noted that the report referred to the joint understanding between Syria and the Commission regarding its request for the Syrian Government's assistance, he stressed that the joint understanding took into account the country's rights and jurisdiction under international law.

Syria had cooperated with the Commission since its inception, and the ability of the Syrian Judiciary Commission to provide that cooperation revolved to a great extent around the Commission's need for information relating to some aspects of its work that related to Syria.

Mr. Hariri's assassination in February 2005 led to renewed calls for the withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence agents, who had been in Lebanon since the early stages of the country's 1975-1990 civil war. Syria withdrew its troops from its smaller neighbour last April.

Wide shot of the scene where judge Taha al-Amiri was killed, police car

Close up of policeman holding bullet shell

441775

AP Television News

Basra - 12 February 2005

Al-Amiri's coffin on roof of car

442286

AP Television News

Baghdad - 17 February 2005

Wide shot of the news conference

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdul Hussein Hindawi, Head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq:

"In accordance with its legal responsibility, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq has organised and supervised the elections held on January 30 according to Iraq's administrative law of the transitional stage. The elections were aimed to elect a National Assembly, the Kurdistani National Assembly and provincial council for 18 Iraqi provinces."

"I swear by God that I'll sincerely perform my tasks and legal responsibilities and I work for maintaining the general and private freedoms and the independence of judiciary and I'll commit by putting into force legislations honestly and sincerely, God may witness."

"With the completion of the investigative procedures, the accused Saddam Hussein Majid, Barazan Ibrahim al-Hasan, Taha Yassin Ramadan, Awad Hamed al-Bandarand, and others deemed to be their accomplices, have been indicted to be tried by the Trial Chamber under clauses (1), (4), (6) and (9) of Article 12 (a) of the Statute of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, which deal with crimes against humanity, and in accordance with Article 15 of the Statute. With this announcement, the IST has raised this historical trial to a new level on the basis of legal evidence as the Trial Chamber judges will determine the date of the beginning of the trials in the next few days."

Pool

FILE: Baghdad - 1 July 2004

Wide shot Saddam Hussein being interrogated by Judge Juhi

10:16:49

Iraq in August

459530

AP Television News

Basra - 23 August 2005

Wide shot of South Oil Company

Sign reading "South Oil Company"

Various of fire from oil refinery

Man closing oil production lines

460039

AP Television News

Tikrit - 29 August 2005

Demonstrators marching and applauding

Demonstrators marching and chanting

Demonstrator holding picture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and chanting pro-Islam slogans

460133

AP Television News

Ramadi - 30 August 2005

Demonstrators carrying pictures of Moqtada al-Sadr (Shiite cleric) his father and former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein chanting (in Arabic) "No to the constitution."

"Today it was a day where consensus was reached between the main and the important parties of the Iraqi people. Consensus has been reached today which led to the launch of the Constitution draft which is now in the hands of the great Iraqi nation."

464442

US Pool

Baghdad - 15 October 2005

++Audio as incoming++

Talabani casting his vote

Ibrahim al-Jaafari voting

464803

Pool

Baghdad - 19 October 2005

Saddam Hussein being brought to the box

Judge smiling

UPSOUND (Arabic) Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi President:

"I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect to its people, and I retain my constitutional right as the president of Iraq. Neither do I recognize the body that has designated and authorised you, nor the aggression because all that has been built on a false basis is false."

"This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary working class Londoners. Black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old.

455282

AP Television News

London - 7 July 2005

Various of people walking near Aldgate train station, streets blocked off by police

455401

AP Television News

London - July 2005

Various pictures of missing people posted at King's Cross station

Flowers outside King's Cross Station

455464

AP Television News

London - 7 July 2005

Young woman taping poster of missing person to lamppost

456627

AP Television News

London - 7 July 2005

Mid shot of police around cordoned off area at Warren Street tube station

10:27:41

Indonesia Bali Bombs

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AP Television News

Jimbaran Beach, Bali - 1 October 2005

Various shots of bomb damaged Raja restaurant

Various shots outside Raja restaurant

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AP Television News

Jimbaran Beach, Bali - 1 October 2005

Restaurant sign, pan down to inside of restaurant

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AP Television News

Jimbaran Beach, Bali - 1 October 2005

Various interiors of Nyoman café where bomb detonated

463201

AP Television News

Kuta, Bali - 2 October 2005

Various shots of broken windows and glass on streets

463201

AP Television News

Jimbaran Beach - 2 October 2005

Wide shot of police tape across beach where blasts occurred

Tables and chairs knocked over by blast at cafes

10:28:52

India Bombs

465464

AP Television News

Lawaypura, near Srinagar - 26 October 2005

Various of wrecked military bus

Front of damaged bus

Soldier throwing something inside bus

Soldier with gun; bus in background

Shattered glass

465716

AP Television News

New Delhi - 29 October 2005

Sarojini Nagar neighbourhood, New Delhi

Night shots

Wide shot police closing bomb site and ambulance driving off

Bomb site with police looking at damage

Wide shot bomb site

Rescue workers and police clearing up scene

465737

AP Television News

New Delhi - 29 October 2005

Paharganj, New Delhi

++Night shots++

Pan from damaged shops to security and crowd at blast site

Debris on the ground

Various of damaged shops

Policemen searching the debris

Wide shot blast site

NATURAL DISASTERS

10:30:04

Tsunami

438020

AP Television/Amateur video

++ NOTE: Upsound includes obscene language++

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand - 26 December 2004

Various shots of beach shore as taken from apartment (UPSOUND family talking about size of oncoming wave)

Second wave crashes on to shore UPSOUND "Jesus Christ, look at that, (swears)..get in, get in, get in", family rushes inside, shot pans to flooded shoreline, sea water rushes into complex

437671

AP Television/Amateur video

Patong Beach - 26 December 2004

Wave hitting Patong Beach

437706

Krabi Island - 26 December 2004

AP Television/Amateur Video - December 26, 2004

Beach with boats being pulled in by surf

437689

AP Television News

Beruwela - 26 December 2004

AP Television/Amateur video

Huge wave washes over hotel guests and staff seating area into courtyard

Furniture and people floating in water

437852

Galle, Sri Lanka - 26 December 2004

AP Television/Amateur video

Torrent rushing through town, vehicles and people being swept along

Various of buses and debris being swept along by torrent, UPSOUND of screaming

People clinging onto side of building, water rushing past

Pan of flooded area, people sitting on top of half-submerged buses, UPSOUND of distressed woman

"What Live Aid did, joyously, enthusiastically, was open up the avenues of possibility. Finally, Live 8 invites you to walk down them."

454198

Pool

Glastonbury, UK - 26 June 2005,

Bob Geldof on stage with Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis

454611

AP Television News

Tokyo, Japan - 1 July 2005, Japan

Various shots of construction workers bringing up a large banner reading "Live 8"

Various shots of audio equipments under preparations.

454710

AP Television News

Tokyo, Japan - 2 July 2005

Various shots of LIVE8 signs outside the Makuhari Messe venue

Various shots of people queuing up to receive tickets

454712

AP Television News

Tokyo, Japan - 2 July 2005

Various of Japanese audience at the lobby where white poverty wrist band and the goods are on sale

454721

AP Television News

Rome, Italy - 2 July 2005

Wide shot Circus Maximus with stage in background

454796

AP Television News

Rome - 2 July 2005

Wide pan of crowd and stage

Giant screen playing Live8 commercial

454727

AP Television News

Berlin, Germany - 2 July 2005

Wide shot of stage being prepared in front of Victory Column

Tilt down from Brandenburg Gate to drummers playing in street

454741

Versailles, France - 2 July 2005

Wide pan of of crowd in front of concert stage

454795

AP Television News

Paris, France - 2 July 2005

Mid shot banner in crowd

454719

London, UK - 2 July 2005

Wide shot of stage in Hyde Park

454778

AP Television News

Paris, France 2 July 2005

Wide shot of Live8 stage

Pan of stage

Pan of crowd

London, UK - 2 July 2005

WS Live8 stage in London's Hyde Park

WS crowd

454765

AP Television News

Soweto, South Africa - 2 July 2005

South African family watched Live8 concert at home on television

Nairobi, Kenya - 2 July 2005

Man drinking a beer watches Live8 on television

10:46:48

G8 Summit and Protests

454893

AP Television News

Edinburgh, Scotland - 4 July 2005

Various shots of demonstrators banging drums

Pan from police across to demonstrators

Various shots of police forming line, keeping back protesters

455071

AP Television News

Bannockburn, Scotland - 6 July 2005

Protesters attacking a police van with golf clubs and rocks

Close of police handcuffing protester on ground

Police in riot gear running down street

455154

Pool

Gleneagles, Scotland - 6 July 2005

Various of leaders of the G8 posing for a photograph with Queen Elizabeth II - her husband Prince Philip and Prime Minister Tony Blair greet leaders of the G8: US President George W. Bush and wife Laura, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and wife Sheila, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and wife, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and wife, Doris Schroeder-Koepf, Russian President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, French President Jacques Chirac, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Weizman and his wife Reuma during ceremony for Italian president, 11 October 1999

Weizman before speech to high schoolers where he spoke against gays, 23 December 1996

Weizman in Gaza for talks with Yasser Arafat, 6 May 1997

448638

Pool

Near Caesarea, northern Israel - 26 April 2005

Wide shot flag-draped coffin

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approaches coffin

Reuma Weizman, widow of Ezer Weizman

Various coffin being carried to cemetery

Gaza Withdrawal

456333

AP Television News

Kissufim Crossing - 18 July 2005

Israeli soldier erecting a wall near the crossing

Wide shot of wall

456319

AP Television News

Netivot, southern Israel - 18 July 2005

High shot pan of thousands of people dancing at demonstration, UPSOUND singing and clapping

457514

AP Television News

Nitzan - 1 August 2005

Wide shot of "caravilla" (temporary/mobile home) site

Movers helping family unload van

458638

AP Television News

Elei Sinai Settlement, northern Gaza - 13 August 2005

UPSOUND (Hebrew) rabbi and settlement leader:

"We are not being expelled by a non-Jew. We are being taken out of here by Jews, and this is the pain. If a Gentile came and burned my house, if this Gentile shot a bullet in me, it wouldn't hurt me as much."

458795

AP Television News

Neve Dekalim settlement, southern Gaza - 15 August 2005

Various shots of Israeli tanks and security forces marching down road

Various shots of scuffles between settlers and security forces

Various shots of settlers burning eviction notices

Gan Or, part of the Gush Katif settlement in southern Gaza - 15 August 2005

People running up steps of stadium towards injured in immediate aftermath of bomb

Injured or dead people on steps

11:01:11

Kenya

444709

AP Television News

Nairobi, Kenya - 16 March 2005

Kenyan flag

Wide shot of police on horseback chasing protesters outside the parliament building

Various shots of protesters being dispersed by water cannon, tear gas, and rubber bullets

456502

AP Television News

Nairobi - 20 July 2005

Policemen being attacked by stone throwing protesters

Protesters throwing stones

Various of riot police beating protesters with sticks and forcing them into a police truck

11:01:55

Togo

441875

AP Television News

Lome, Togo - 12 February 2005

Wide shot of streets, people calling others to demonstrate

Policemen shooting teargas at demonstrators

Mid shot of policemen shooting

448423

AP Television News

Lome - 24 April 2005

Main opposition leader Akitani Pop casting his vote

Faure Gnassingbe, presidential candidate, casting vote

448548

AP Television News

Lome - 25 April 2005

Wide of young man in Be Kopta neighbourhood, walking angrily towards camera with a machete in one hand a stone in the other, fire in background

Wide of protester with stones walking around the fire

Protesters screaming: "We are very angry, we are very angry" in local language

11:03:22

South Africa AIDS

438542

AP Television News

Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa - 6 January 2005

Nelson Mandela arrives at his house

SOUNDBITE (English) Nelson Mandela, former president

"We must not hide the cause the death of our families because that is the only way we can make people understand that HIV is an ordinary disease, that's why we called you here today to announce that my son has died of AIDS. Thank you."

439402

AP Television News

Qunu, South Africa - 15 January 2005

Funeral ceremony with photograph of Makgatho Mandela

Mandela sprinkling earth on grave

EUROPE

11:03:22

Germany Elections

461859

AP Television News

Berlin - 16 September 2005

Interior of souvenir shop with Angela Merkel souvenir doll

Various of slippers reading (German) "Wahl Schlappe" or (English) "Election Defeat" in the colours of the various political parties